Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what testing and tracing measures for covid-19 (a) are in place for crown courts that are open and (b) will be in place as other courts and tribunals re-open; whether he plans for the wider opening of courts to take place after testing and tracing measures are in place; and if he will make a statement.

The Department for Health and Social Care recently launched the Test and Trace service that will identify anyone who tests positive for coronavirus and encourage those who have been in close contact to self-isolate for 14-days.

Beyond this national roll out, there are no specific test and trace measures in place for crown courts that are open (a) and there are no plans to put specific measures in place as other courts and tribunals reopen (b).

Courts and Tribunals have social distancing measures in place to ensure all those who come into our buildings (including staff, the judiciary, professional court users and members of the public) can maintain a 2-metre distance from others.

Additional cleaning measures and safety and security controls are in place in court and tribunal buildings to ensure they are safe to be used.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service has also undertaken a whole organisation risk assessment to identity COVID-19 related risks in our buildings, and put in place procedures to mitigate those risks. These arrangements are kept under constant review to ensure that they continually reflect changing circumstances and current Government advice.

Our focus is now on maximising our capacity to reduce the growth and volume of our outstanding work. We are working closely with the judiciary to increase the number of hearings by further expanding our capacity for remote audio and video hearings; and ensuring that we can reopen our estate for more face to face hearings as soon as it is safe to do so.

These specific measures will be set out in due course. In the meantime, our listing priorities continue to be published on judiciary.uk and details those hearings that must still go ahead.